Symptoms:

Jaundice may appear suddenly or develop slowly over time. Symptoms of jaundice commonly include:

• Yellow skin and the white part of the eyes (sclera) -- when jaundice is more severe, these areas may look brown
• Yellow color inside the mouth
• Dark or brown-colored urine
• Pale or clay-colored stools

Note: If the whites of your eyes are not yellow, you may not have jaundice. Your skin can turn a yellow-to-orange color if you eat too much beta carotene, the orange pigment in carrots.

Other symptoms depend on the disorder causing the jaundice:

• Cancers may produce no symptoms, or there may be fatigue, weight loss, or other symptoms
• Hepatitis may produce nausea, vomiting, fatigue, or other symptoms

Signs and tests:

The health care provider will perform a physical exam. This may reveal liver swelling.

A bilirubin blood test will be done. Other tests vary, but may include:

• Hepatitis virus panel to look for infection of the liver
• Liver function tests to determine how well the liver is working
• Complete blood count to check for low blood count or anemia
• Abdominal ultrasound
• Abdominal CT scan
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
• Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiogram (PTCA)
• Liver biopsy
• Cholesterol level
• Prothrombin time